Ginger-garlic paste is the most important paste in my fridge. It is an important part of all non-vegetarian cooking, and almost every gravy recipe I make requires this.

If you want to make food tasty in less amount of time, the ingredients you use have to be of the top quality.

That is why all busy people must have this paste in the fridge. It is simple to make at home, and it keeps for two weeks without losing its flavour.

Pastes that are kept for a longer time will lose the unique aroma and ginger-garlicky taste that it can give to the food. So make the batch that you require for 2 to 3 weeks only.

Good quality ginger and garlic are required for the paste — Purchase good quality ingredients. Large pods are easier to peel.

I don’t add any preservative to the paste. It is 100% natural. The aroma and flavour it imparts to food is amazing, and quite different from the ready-made pastes I’ve tried.

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How to Make the Ginger-Garlic Paste

Peeling the Ginger

The ginger can simply be scraped with a spoon to remove the skin. Remember to not simply throw away the ginger skin! Chop the ginger into large pieces.

Ginger is peeled with a spoon — Use a spoon or knife to scrape off the ginger peel

Peeling the Garlic

Follow these hacks to peel the garlic. I also make it easier by buying the larger garlic cloves available round the year. Smaller ones are supposed to be healthier. So you can use them for daily cooking, when you have to add a garlic or two to your daal or vegetable of the day. But make your life easier by getting the larger ones for this paste.

Pods of garlic are peeled for the ginger-garlic paste — Peeling the garlic is actually the only tiresome part of the paste

Grinding

So you have chopped up the ginger and peeled the garlic. Now you just pop them into your mixie jar or blender.

Time to grind the ginger and garlic together

Remember that it does have a stong odour, so you will need to wash it thoroughly before using it for any other purpose. There is no need to add water. Just scrape it down the jar if needed. It will become a coarse paste. If you prefer a fine puree, you may have to add a teaspoon of water. Don’t make it watery.

Storing

Store the paste in a clean and dry, airtight jar.

In case you need to make it in bulk, for more than three weeks, add a teaspoon each of oil and vinegar.

Ginger-Garlic Paste

Recipe by Sheetal RabindranCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy

Prep time

minutes

Make a jar of this paste to bring down your cooking time and bump up the food taste

Ingredients

100 g ginger, peeled and chopped
100 g garlic, peeled

Directions

Grind the ginger and garlic together in a blender/mixie.
Scrape down the sides of the jar and repeat, till you get a coarse paste.
In case you prefer a smooth texture, add a teaspoon of water
Store in an air tight jar in the fridge for 3 weeks. It will not spoil after that, but it will lose it’s fresh flavour.

Notes

If you need to make it in bulk, for more than three weeks, add a teaspoon each of oil and vinegar and mix well. It will keep for a month and a half in the cool zone of your fridge.